Near the end of Mary McCarthy’s satire, The Groves of Academe, the squabbling English department at Jocelyn College sponsors a poetry conference. My reaction to poetry conferences is awe.
But Mary McCarthy is not awed; she explains the mechanics of the conference. The poets have attended so many (for a small fee) that they can predict the trajectory. They know that the president of the college will stand up at the last event and ask an intelligent but very long question.
One of the most charming moments is when Miss Mansell, wearing “a high- necked black heavy crepe blouse encrusted with with sequins and a long black crepe skirt” (an outfit that would suit any poet), announces she intends to speak about and recite Virgil. The faculty and students are both shocked.
McCarthy explains, “From the point of view of the students, the choice was not a happy one. The majority of the students present had never heard of the Mantuan; they supposed he was a modern poet whom their faculty had not yet caught up with…”
Those who know Virgil are equally upset. “A few scowling students who had not had the good fortune to be educated progressively moved restlessly in their seats, as though fighting being awakened from a dream tto their Latin teacher and the abhorrent learning by rote. There were stifled cries of ‘Let me out of here.”
This made me laugh because – full disclosure – I used to teach Latin. So did my husband. We loved being T.A.’s at the university, and in my case I was also a Visiting lecturer while my husband finished his thesis. I taught Virgil and two first-year Latin classes, and required my students to memorize the opening lines of the Aeneid. I knew from experience during a protracted illness that reciting Virgil (silently) is calming.
This is one of McCarthy’s best satires, and poets would doubtless enjoy it. And if you can’t wander off to a poetry conference, read this book instead.
